"The Chicago Cubs have culled the number of bids for the team to five, all at $1 billion or more, and tossed out an offer from a group regarded as the favorite of Major League Baseball, sources said Wednesday.

The Cubs, owned by Tribune Co., have rejected an offer from a large investment group led by John Canning Jr., chairman of Madison Dearborn Partners LLC. Canning, a part owner of the Milwaukee Brewers, is a close associate of baseball Commissioner Bud Selig.

Making the cut as the Cubs winnowed the list of bids from an original 10 respondents was Mark Cuban, owner of basketball’s Dallas Mavericks, said a source familiar with the process. The identity of the other finalists couldn’t be learned.

Canning declined to comment. He represented a group that included Aon Corp. Chairman Patrick Ryan, business leader Andrew McKenna and restaurateurs Richard Melman and Larry Levy, among others.

“His bid was not at a high enough level. He’s out,” a source said. “He could rebid. He could say, ‘I’m sorry, I forgot a decimal point.’ But as of now, he’s out.”

The bold move points to escalating tension between Tribune Chairman Sam Zell, trying to maximize the price for the Cubs, and the lords of baseball. Rules specify that 75 percent of the owners must approve any sale, and they could look at factors other than price in settling on a suitable Cubs buyer.

Owners could look dimly on the brash Cuban, known for yelling at referees during Mavericks games. Yet he is wealthy enough to offer the top price. He made much of his money selling Broadcast.com to Yahoo! Inc. at the top of the Internet market and he owns cable channel HDNet.

Cubs-turned-White Sox announcer Steve Stone said Cuban could win over the owners by aligning himself with top baseball executives. Stone has been interested in becoming a team owner but is not part of any Cubs bid.

Stone also said Canning may re-emerge. “John realizes what a tremendous opportunity this is. This particular team probably will never come on the market in his or a lot of other people’s lifetimes,” Stone said.

In rejecting Canning, the Cubs may be trying to avoid a situation the Boston Red Sox faced in 2002. The team had a higher bid, but Selig and the owners ultimately forced a sale for $700 million to hedge-fund operator John Henry."